(ECNS) -- A 17-year-old high school student from Zhejiang Province has helped discover a new snake species after spending more than 40 nights conducting field observations in Kuocang Mountain.
The reptile, later identified as Achalinus mirabilis, was confirmed by researchers and the story has recently gone viral online.
The discovery marks the first new reptile species with its type locality in Zhejiang since the 20th century.
According to the Zhejiang Forest Resources Monitoring Center, Xu Jinan, project leader and engineer, said high school student Hu Jiahao was an "indispensable key force" in the identification of this new species. He provided the crucial specimens that filled the most critical gap in the research.
The story dates back to Oct. 18, 2024, when Zhou Jiajun, an investigation expert from the Zhejiang Forest Resources Monitoring Center, and local biology enthusiast Chen Haojun discovered the incomplete remains of a snake during a survey in the Kuocang Mountains， a local newspaper reported.
The snake was slender, measuring 20–30 centimeters in length, with a brown to dark brown body that differed from common species. Drawing on their professional experience, they recognized its uniqueness.
Fellow enthusiast Hu expressed his hope to contribute by finding more complete specimens. Since childhood, he has spent much of his free time hiking in the mountains to observe wildlife.
Through online platforms, he connected with Zhou, a science popularizer known by the username "Zhou Yuhei," who works at the Zhejiang Forest Resources Monitoring Center.
In the summer vacation of 2025, Hu began his journey to search for the snake in the Kuocang Mountains. After completing his daily studies, he would pack his professional photography gear and protective equipment, travel nearly 100 kilometers round-trip to the mountains, and look for traces of the snake.
Initially, following the conventional wisdom that snakes are more active after rain, Hu repeatedly searched the mountains after rainfall but found nothing. He then adjusted his strategy, switching to clear nights for his surveys.
The breakthrough came on the evening of August 17, 2025. As Hu was descending the mountain, a slender snake suddenly slithered across the road. He immediately moved closer to observe — it was exactly the target species he had been tirelessly searching for!
The adult female snake measured over 30 cm in length, with a brownish body and a light brown underside, matching the characteristics of the previously discovered remains. It later became the holotype specimen used in the formal description of the species.
Over the next two months, Hu continued his surveys, discovering two more live snakes and two road-killed specimens in the same area, bringing the total to five specimens.
After proper processing, these specimens were sent to universities and research institutions for molecular sequencing and morphological analysis, providing critical evidence for the scientific identification of the new species.
The new species has now been officially named the Kuocang Mountain keelback (Achalinus mirabilis), with a CO1 genetic divergence of 9.5%–10.9% from its closest relatives.
The discovery enriches Zhejiang’s known biodiversity and highlights the potential role of citizen science in scientific research.
The findings were published in early March in the international journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
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